Improvement in organ-treadles



nrrnn S'rnfrns ATENT FFICE.

J9EE A. SMITE, OF ERIE, ASSIGNOR TO NEV ERA ORGAN COMPANY, OF NOR-TH EAST, PENNSYLVANIA.

iMPROVEMENT EN RGAN-TREADLLS.

Specilicaticn forming part of Letters Patent No. E39/,d ii, dated March 25, 1873.

To all whom it may concern;

Beit known that I, JOHN A. SMITH, of Erie, in the county of Erie and State oi' Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in the Treadles of Organs; and I do hereby de- Clare the following to be a i'ull, clear, and eX- act description ot' the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon, the same forming a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in providing an organ, melodeon, or similar instrument with a treadle so constructed that the same can be as easily operated by persons of low as those of higher stature.

The diiiiculty with the present construction oi' the treadles oi such instruments is that it is impossible, or at least very difcult, for a child to operate the same while learning to play. To obviate this diiculty is the object ci' my invention. This I do by so attaching the treadle that it is easily adjusted to any height required.

My invention is shown in the accompanying drawing as follows: Figure l is a view of so much of an organ as shows my mode of constructing or attaching the treadles. Fig. 2 is a detached view of some ot' the parts.

In l, A represents the case ot' the organ, and A is the projection of the baseboard usually made at the place where the treadles attach. C is a bracket, which is usually, or ot ten, placed by the side ci the treadles, and B are the treadles. .I is the strap or webbing which connects the treadles with the blowers. This, in the drawing, is seen passing from the treadles over the pulley or roller L in the usual manner. The usual manner of attaching the webbing to the treadle is to nail it to the under side oi' the same near the toe, and the heel ofthe treadle is hin ged to the projecting base A. In place of this I pass the webbing underneath the whole length ofthe pedal or treadle I5, and iinally attach the same to the baseboard Af, and I place in the toe of the trcadle B a roller, Iii. I also hinge the heel of the 't eadle on a shaft, H, by lugs or anyT proper vice. This shat't has its bearings in either of a series ofnotches, G F E D, which are placed on the inner sides oi' the brackets C, which se- .1s ot' notches are represented by dotted lines. In the drawing the primary position of this shaft Ii is in the notch G, and the secondary position, that represented by dotted lines, is in the notch I). The shaft and the treadle are thus represented in the extreme positions in which they can be placed. The webbing J in its passage from the blowers to its place ot attaohment, passes over the shaft H. When the shaft H and the treadles are raised or lowered the action of the parts on the webbing is the same, only it is exerted at different points. By passing the webbing beyond the toe ofthe treadle and over the shaft H, and making the same fast at the point named, the elevation or depression of the plane oi' action of the treadles will be perfectly tree. The act of adjusting the treadles to any height is accomplished by a movement of the lever P. This lever is placed midway ct the shaft II, and is there iirmly attached 5 from thence it passes, at right angles to the same, directly toward the instrument, before reaching which, however, it turns up at a right angle and terminates at any convenient point directly in front or" the operator, but, of course, below the key-board in the handle Q.

The inode or" adjusting the pedals is as follows: The handle is grasped in the hand and drawn toward the operator, and at the saine time it is raised. This action raises the shat't H ont of the notch G and carries it up to, say, D. This movement of course carries up the heel ot' the treadle, and the toe, being sustained on the webbing J by the roller M, is also carried up at the saine time-that is to say, the raising of the lever P has carried the treadles up bodily. New, if the position of the hand as to height be maintained while the handle Q is carried toward the instrument, the

'whole trea dle appara-tus is carried forward and the shaft H is carried into the notch D. This operation will place the shaft H into any of the intermediate notches F E D when desired. The roller M is not placed in the position shown for the purpose of acting as a roller except when the treadles are hein g elevated, and when there may be any slack in the webbing, for if the webbing be perfectly taut no lnovelnent of the roller M will take place during the action of the treadles; but it', by stretching or any other cause, the webbing becomes slack, then the roller M will move and prevent wear of the webbing.

The brackets C i expect to make of cast metal, and the ratchets D E F G will be cast solid therewith and be a part of the same.

My device can be attached to any old instrument, by detaching` the treadles and readjusting them to the shaft H, by detaching the webbing from the toe of the treadles and extending it over the shaft H and reattaching it to the base-board A', and by then attaching my ratcheted brackets C and adjusting the shaft E therein.

I do not limit myself to thc construction of the ratcheted bracket G as Wholly of cast metal, nor as Wholly of one piece of material, for it may be made of Wood andof Wood and iron in separate pieces.

What I wish to claim as new, and to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. The treadle B, in combination with the webbing or strap J, constructed, attached, ar-

ranged, and operated substantially in the man- H and adjustable treadle B, as shown and de-l scribed.

JOHN A. SMITH. Witnesses:

JNO. K. HALLOCK, WM. N. FLEMING. 

